Protest judgment in Biberach: Teachers convicted of street blockade!

Protest judgment in Biberach: Teachers convicted of street blockade!

in Biberach, where the waves of the protests hit the Greens, a court has now set a clear sign. A 40-year-old teacher and sideline farmer was convicted of his participation in the sometimes violent protests on political Ash Wednesday. The Biberach District Court guilty of the breach of the peace, coercion and resistance to enforcement officers. The penalty: a whopping 4,000 euros, consisting of 80 daily rates of 50 euros, such as [welt.de] (https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article254516322/biberach-skalte-proteste-Gruenen-strich-Mahr-mann-zu-gomen- zu-gomort=biberach) reported.

The process was the first legal consequence of the chaotic scenes that took place in the city on February 14 of this year. The protests organized primarily by farmers led the Greens to cancel a planned event with prominent guests such as Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann and Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir. The Situation escalated in such a way that several police officers were injured while the officials had to use pepper spray to control the situation.

a man between the fronts

The convicted teacher said in court that he did not intend to invest with the police. "I am out of curiosity and get into the situation through a kind of group dynamics," said the accused. He claimed that he was only passively pushed away from the mass, while the public prosecutor saw active resistance to the civil servants. Das Gericht folgte letztlich der Forderung der Staatsanwaltschaft und verhängte die Geldstrafe, die der Angeklagte nun anfechten will, wie SWR.de reported.

The protests themselves were not only an expression of the dismay, but also a sign of the tense conditions between agriculture and politics. In front of the town hall, where the Greens wanted to hold their event, the demonstrators built street blocks and even placed a dung heap, which underlined the symbolism of their action. One participant is also said to have thrown an object on Özdemir, which further fueled the situation.

a judgment with consequences

The judgment against the teacher is only the beginning. There are further procedures in the coming weeks because the public prosecutor's office has investigated a total of 65 people. In 42 cases, criminal orders have already been issued and many of the accused have appealed. The incidents not only have legal, but also social implications, since they illustrate the tensions between different interest groups in Germany.

The defendant sees the judgment as politically charged and is looking forward to the further negotiations. "That is too high, in my opinion. We will also defend ourselves against it," he said. The protests and the following legal steps show how deep the trenches between the different political and social camps are in Germany

The events in Biberach are an urgent example of how protests can turn into violence and what legal consequences this entails. The coming weeks will show whether further convictions will follow and how public opinion on these incidents will develop.